Luck of the Draw
by Drowned Ophelia
Summary: A short, silly story where a Female Protagonist tries her hand at drawing a fortune at the shrine. After receiving one that warns of bad luck her day becomes increasingly worse and gets Adachi wrapped up in her misfortune as well.


Narukami nearly sighed when she accepted her newest request from the fox. When she'd initially met the strange bibbed animal she had no idea what she'd be getting herself into upon suddenly having an ema given to her. Although Narukami enjoyed helping others, the wishes she'd been fulfilling could be a bit tricky at times.

The compensation of the fox cutting its fees each time to restore their MP while visiting the TV world was too good to pass up, however. Initially the creature's prices had been so ludicrous once their magic had been expended it was still time to head home, but lately what he'd been asking had been actually rather cheap, provided he wasn't in a sour mood. Narukami had fulfilled so many of them that surely it would be coming to an end soon.

After giving the fox a quick pat on the head Narukami turned to leave, but then recalled the fortunes she could try her hand at. There was a new grand prize in crane game at Okina City she'd been struggling to get, so a little extra luck on her side couldn't hurt.

Narukami dropped her yen into the box next to the fortunes and carefully drew one, letting out an audible gasp upon opening it and reading "Very bad luck! Take caution: A relationship may drastically change!"

She crumpled up the fortune and started for the exit, only to trip and fall forward, the fox rushing over to see if she was alright.

"After all I've done for this place…" Narukami groaned as she stood up, brushing the dirt off her school uniform. She looked over to the nearby area the children liked to play in and was grateful that none of them seemed to have witnessed her folly.

"Yip?" the fox replied with a small tilt of its head.

Anyone could have tripped in that spot, right? The shrine wasn't exactly well maintained, and the path was uneven, so it was just a coincidence. If she let that fortune rattle her, then of course bad things would happen. Even so, it wouldn't hurt to be on the safe side. Narukami decided the crane game could wait and she'd stay in town for the day.

Shortly after leaving the shrine Narukami heard Teddie excitedly calling her name, finding him with Kanji in front of the textile shop eating topsicles. Despite the fact Narukami usually always managed to keep her cool in any scenario, Teddie could tell if even the slightest thing was bothering her.

"Is something wrong, Sensei?" Teddie asked, his voice full of concern and ready for the right moment to sneak in a hug.

"I just got a bad fortune at the shrine is all," Narukami answered, trying to sound unconcerned with a shrug. "I fell down afterwards, but I'm trying not to let it get to me."

"You'll be alright, Senpai," Kanji assured. "You're too tough to let some scroll ruin your day."

"I know what will make you feel better!" Teddie said cheerfully. "Here, you can have my last topsicle!" He handed it to her with a big smile.

"Thanks, Teddie!" Narukami smiled back and opened the treat, her tongue barely touching it when the topsicle fell apart and splattered on her shoe, making her groan.

Teddie let out a startled cry. "Sensei really is cursed! Oh noooo!"

"Did you just take a step away from me?" Narukami asked Kanji, noticing he was slightly further away.

"Erm… Well…" Kanji wasn't sure what to say, but he was a little worried her bad luck might be contagious.

"It's alright…" Narukami tossed the stick and wrapper into the trash and continued on her way.

An entrance to the Velvet Room was in the Shopping District, so Narukami decided to do a bit of fusing with some new Personas she'd recently picked up during the latest TV World visit. Surely that space which was disconnected from the real world wouldn't be affected by any misfortune she'd been stricken with.

"Margaret, do you sense anything bad happening with my Social Links?" Narukami asked after the attendant had given her usual greeting. There were times when Margaret had been helpful to alerting her to new acquaintances she'd meet, so perhaps she could help with the fortune's second premonition. The last thing she wanted was to upset someone and end up with a broken or reversed Link.

"Hmmm…" Margaret hummed as she thought. "I believe that's something you may have to discover for yourself…"

"It's going to be with me if you don't take me out of this room soon!" Marie piped up in her usual harsh tone. "StupidbimboIhateyou…"

"I-I'm sorry…" Narukami stammered.

Since Margaret wouldn't give her any hints, Narukami decided to go on with asking Igor to fuse two of her Personas, wanting to obtain a Lovers Persona to help her bond with the newest member of the Investigation team. The fusion didn't go exactly as planned, Narukami's eyes widening to see a phallic looking creature sitting on a chariot.

"Wh-What is…?" Narukami was shocked; such a thing had never happened before.

"This must be the power of the "Wild Card"," Igor realized.

"This Mara, a Persona of the Tower arcana. It is at a much higher level and more powerful than the Persona you originally intended to obtain," Margaret added, ignoring the laughter Marie was trying to stifle. "I'm sure it will be of use to you."

It was with great reluctance that Narukami accepted this Persona; there was no way she could ever use it in front of any of her friends. She didn't even know what would come out if she tried to use it in another fusion, so Narukami exited the Velvet Room for the day, feeling defeated.

A wave of mental fatigue washed over her so Narukami leaned against a utility pole for moment, closing her eyes as she took in and let out a deep breath. Not even the Velvet Room had been safe… She hadn't made it home yet and already three bad things had happened. How much more would it escalate?

Narukami tried to move away from the pole to find that her skirt was sticking to it. She seized the fabric and gave it a tug, freeing it, but the large blob of bubblegum she'd been resting on followed, a string connecting it to the pole. With a sound of disgust she tried to get it off, but it stuck tightly; she wouldn't be able to do anything at the moment.

There was supposed to be a book out she'd been interested in, so Narukami dared to at least try purchasing it. It didn't come as a surprise at all when the employee at the Yomenaido Bookstore informed her that there had been a delay in the shipment, but at least they still expected to receive it that week. That was something she could easily deal with.

Doing her best to keep an eye out for any potential hazards, Narukami decided to go straight home, but had to pause when she came across one of the many stray cats she'd been making friends with. If anything could brighten up her day it would a purring, affectionate, fuzzy feline.

The cat came to her immediately, giving Narukami the reaction she'd been hoping for. The cat rested its chin on Narukami's shoulder and she hugged it, moments later hearing the cat make a hacking sound as its back arched and something slimy ran down her neck. Narukami shuddered and set the cat down at once, reaching down her back to retrieve the hairball. She nearly gagged herself upon touching it and tossing it to the ground. Her outfit was already soiled, so she didn't hesitate to wipe hand on it.

That was the last straw; it was time to rush home, crawl into bed, and wait for this day to be over. Surely a day of making her life miserable would enough, and she would know better than to ever try one of those fortunes again.

As she approached the house Narukami felt relief, which quickly vanished the moment she saw something amiss with the garden. It seemed that some sort of animal had gotten into it and the remains of rather pricey Scapegoat Eggplant she'd been growing were laying in pieces. She quickly cleaned it up, hoping Nanako hadn't seen it yet, planning to sneak out and plant a new seedling later. Her cousin would be devastated if she knew of something bad happening to their latest crop.

Eager to get inside the house, Narukami failed to notice her skirt snagging on the door as she opened it. There came a loud ripping sound and she quickly grabbed the skirt upon feeling it falling off, needing to hold it around her to keep her modesty as she hurried inside and shut the door.

"Woah, what happened to you?"

Narukami's focus had been on her skirt, but her head jerked up at once upon hearing Adachi's voice. He stood staring in wonder at her disheveled state, her uncle and cousin nowhere in sight.

"I've just been having the worst day…" Narukami was near tears, but she held it together. "Where are Dojima-san and Nanako-chan?"

"They stepped out for a bit; they'll be back soon. Dojima-san invited me over for dinner, so I thought I'd wait here. Do you need any help?"

"No, I think you're safer if you-"

Narukami had barely taken a step forward when she tripped over her own feet. Adachi tried to catch her, but it caught him off balance. The two see-sawed back and forth as they tried to steady the other, Narukami crashing down to the ground with Adachi on top of her.

The high school girl had cushioned his fall quite a bit, but Adachi hesitated to get up when he realized his face was smack dab in the middle of her breasts. He would of risked laying there a bit long if he hadn't realized she wasn't moving. Adachi used his left hand to raise himself to discover not only Narukami laying on the floor dazed from hitting her head, but his boss standing opened mouthed above the two of them.

"I said 'no', Adachi-san…" Narukami mumbled, causing a look of murderous intent to flash across her uncle's face at once.

"This isn't what it…!" Adachi panicked, lifting both his hands as he meant to stand up and move away from Narukami, but the bubblegum on her skirt stuck to his right and the torn garment came right off. He let out a startled sound as he fell on his backside, Narukami's rather racy red panties completely exposed. After a night cleaning at the hospital her sudden rise in courage had prompted her finally buy and wear them.

Knowing he was a dead man at this point Adachi cowered in a fetal position, covering his head as he boss advanced, Nanako peering in from the doorway.

Narukami came to her senses moments later, sitting up to find a rather bizarre scene of a blanket over her lap, Nanako on her knees beside her with her hands over her eyes, and Dojima holding Adachi to wall by his collar. Adachi was fervently insisting everything was a misunderstanding, begging Dojima not to hit him again.

Upon hearing this Narukami immediately spoke up to straighten things out and clear Adachi of any wrongdoing. Dojima released his partner immediatly, and Narukami rushed upstairs to change her clothes. She reached her room to find one of the models she'd spent many nights on completing had fallen off the shelf and broke, but at the point she didn't care anymore. She was trembling and terrified if things could possibly get worse of if she'd be humiliated any further.

Due to what had happened, it took coaxing from Nanako to convince Narukami to come back downstairs. She'd expected Adachi to have left, but the allure of a free meal was enough to keep him there, holding an icepack to his temple that he set down in order to eat. He wouldn't even look at Narukami when she joined them, obviously still angry over what she put him though.

Dinner was quiet and awkward, Dojima and Nanako volunteering to do the dishes themselves to let the other two relax. Narukami glanced over at Adachi, who kept his eyes on the can of beer he hadn't yet finished.

"Adachi-san-" Narukami reached her hand over to him, only to have it quickly swatted away. She recoiled and held it at once like she'd been bitten.

"I don't need you getting me into any more trouble," Adachi hissed, looking over to make sure Dojima wasn't paying any attention to them. When his beer was finished, he'd be out the door.

The fortune's warning flashed in Narukami's mind, as did the Jester tarot card, which seemed to be cracking. This had to be the relationship it was talking about! Adachi was a hard person to get close to, but she'd felt she was beginning to really understand him, her heart sinking at the thought of this one incident undoing all of that. She could save it, couldn't she?

"Adachi-san?" Narukami tried again, getting nothing in acknowledgement. "May I borrow a pen?"

Adachi reached inside his suit jacket and pulled out a ballpoint pen, which he tossed on the table for her to grab. His head hurt too much to wonder what Narukami was writing on one of the leftover napkins, but then she slid it over to him with the pen resting on top. He looked down to see she'd written a phone number on it.

"Please take it," Narukami pled quietly. "Everything that happened is all my fault and I want to make it up to you. Call me when you have a day off and I'll take care of any yard work, household chores, shopping, cooking, you name it. I just want you to forgive me."

Finally Adachi looked her in the eye, noticing she biting her lip, obviously holding back tears. If he turned her offer down, she'd surely start the waterworks.

"You'll do anything?" Adachi asked, suppressing a grin.

Narukami quickly nodded. "I value your friendship, Adachi-san, and I don't want to lose it."

Adachi pocketed the pen, then folding up the napkin and doing the same. Narukami smiled happily at this, getting the familiar warm feeling when she knew a relationship with someone would become closer soon. It would take some time, but perhaps one day she and Adachi could look back on this incident and laugh about it.

Sure enough when Adachi finished his drink he still decided to leave, but told Narukami quietly he'd see her soon before saying his goodbyes to Dojima and Nanako. Narukami watched a little TV with her cousin before going to bed early, certain that no more tragedy could befall her in the safety of her covers.

Outside it was a quiet, peaceful night. The weather was nice, the stars were shining, and the crickets were chirping. The entire neighborhood seemed to be settling down as well, which was why the ear piercing shriek that emanated from the Dojima household caused their neighbors' lights to turn on in alarm and several dogs to start barking.

Nanako and Dojima rushed upstairs as fast as they could to find Narukami white as a sheet in the corner. After lying on her pillow and immediately feeling the sensation of something large, hairy, and with multiple legs squirming underneath her cheek Narukami had screamed. It would be her final bought of bad luck for the day that would make sure she wouldn't be resting easy.

Meanwhile, at Adachi's house, he was busy maxing out his credit card online. She did promise to do "anything", after all…


End file.
